In the new issue of Life & Style Weekly, on newsstands now, Blake Shelton’s close family friends, the Large family, open up, revealing what the Voice star was like before he was famous — while sharing photos and stories of the boy they knew since he was only 12 years old.

Larry and his wife, Carol, helped Blake move to Nashville, Tenn., in 1994 to pursue his dreams of being a country music star. “He said if it didn’t work out, he’d be picking up cans on the side of the road,” Larry says. “He was turned down by a lot of people. He’d get discouraged.”